Waiting for the Bygone Days…
Shyam Charan Hembram
In a dreamy morning
In the month of ‘fagun’,
Cuckoo, you ask me in a sweet voice,
‘How are you, friend?’
Then I say-
Masking nose and mouth,
With the cleanser,
I’m in my ‘khairigarh’
Like, the descendants of ‘pilchu haram pilchu burhi’
Hide themselves from a threat of rain of fire
In the caves of mountain.
Friend, I’m also worried about a virus,
Like Sita, locked by a Lakhsman Rekha,
I’m also restricted to the threshold of the house.
Though I dug the soil, can’t find any coal.
Turning off the light, I lit the candle.
Witnessing the stars of Heaven,
The sailors of lughu hill and ghantabarh,
Please protect me from the pandemic.
Please tell me Diba-kisun,
Why the arena of tamarind trees and jaher than are so lonely?
Tell me Tilka majhi, Sidhu-Kanhu, Birsa-Munda
Why the sounds of dhamsa-madol are muted?
Don’t know how long again…
Will not those bygone days come again?
In those bygone days, on the dried acacia branches by the river-side,
Singing like the birds,
Dancing like peacocks spreading the feathers in the Arun forest.
Stay well, stay at home.
Friend, like a craving soul,
I’m waiting for those bygone days…
Broken Rhythm
Everyday in the arena of tamarind tree in the village
In the sound of dhamsa-madol
The young villagers
Dance ‘langre nach’ in the rhythm.
But this culture is now
Absolutely silent.
The pupils of the villages
Used to go to the institutions.
It has already stopped.
But for what reason?
Everyone is at home.
Who can say how long we have to stay at home in this way?
The cacophony of so many buses-trains-plains
Has already been on the way.
Everyone is with his own business-livelihood ;
They no longer work at their will.
Due to a virus, the rhythm is broken.
The Jungle-Bird
You’re the jungle bird,
Living in the forest,
Take shelter in the shades of trees
And drink the fountain water.
So, you know how pleasant
The rays of dawn,
The coolness of the moonlit night!
The fragrance of
Various kinds of fruits
Various colourful flowers
Will be touched
In the gentle breeze.
What a heavenly coolness under the
Shades of mountain-like straight trees!
In a pure environment
You live-
All day long you sing
With your cultural consciousness.
Never restricted to home,
With so many companions
Far from the shackles of subjugation
You are unique.
1. ‘khairigarh’: The name of the fort where one of the twelve groups of Santal people ‘Hembrom’ lived.
2. ‘pilchu haram pilchu burhi’: The ancestor of the Santal people from which the whole community belongs. The forefather is ‘pilchu haram’ and the foremother is‘pilchu burhi’. 3 & 4. lughu & ghantabarh: Two hills near Paresnath.
5. ‘langre nach’: The cultural dance of Santal people under the shades of the trees in every month.